John Bacon

Just noticed in the final standings, after all the gripes about how the playoff format would lead to strong western teams missing the playoffs while relatively weak eastern teams made it, the playoff team with the fewest points is actually Dallas from the western division. Also, none of the wild card teams from the eastern conference have more points than any of the play off teams from the Atlantic division. Now, can anyone tell me why most of the teams from cities on the Atlantic coast are in the Metropolitan division when most of the teams in the Atlantic division are from "inland" cities?

How are the three stroke motors on gas?

I wouldn't consider the kicker as a necessity; but there are benefits to having one. The kicker will give you better control of your trolling speed, provide a backup if your main motor has problems, save some gas, and reduce the wear and tear on your main motor. You can fish Lake Ontario without the kicker; but it would be better to have one.

Older gas furnaces required chimneys. That may have been what it was for.

But he got stuck further away than he could have got stuck in any other vehicle.

I am hoping it's South Carolina.

Well, for Leaf's fans it certainly was. Ottawa fans may feel differently.

The smaller ones taste quite good...

I wouldn't consider it be close. Benior Lake to Petawawa is about a 2.5 hour drive per Google Maps.

Yes, there are not nearly as many marinas in the area as there used to be. Central Outboard Marine at Woodbine and 7 is not too far from Scarborough. I think there are few east of the city too.

Unfortunately, playing weak teams doesn't seem to help the Leafs win. I.e. look that trouble they have had against Buffalo this year.

I have never really found wait times to be a major problem when using the emergency department of a hospital. I did have one incident recently when my son had to wait for an X-Ray because they didn't have a tech on site. An emergency department should always be staffed. For the most part we have been treated within a reasonable amount of time. I understand that certain procedure do have very long waiting times. But neither I, nor my family have experienced this. It is definitely not perfect; but it is not the disaster that critics would like us to believe.

I feel for the families. But I have to wonder just what they were thinking. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595244/Seven-killed-Bangkok-workers-tried-dismantle-Second-World-War-bomb-blowtorch.html

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/durable-royalex-canoes-soon-thing-past-152837285.html Some say a unique material has spawned a revolution in back-country canoeing in the North. It's called "Royalex" and is used to make tough, reliable whitewater boats. Dozens of new canoes made of Royalex just arrived at Kalin Pallett's Whitehorse outfitting store — and more are on the way. Pallett says the unique material is perfect for northern waters. "It has that elasticity, or that resiliency," said Pallett, who owns Up North Adventures. That durability, which is essentially a sandwich of vinyl, plastic and foam, is key for many river paddlers. The material means it's buoyant, lightweight and relatively affordable. But it's also a niche product, and its lone U.S. manufacturer is discontinuing the material. "It's all happening very quickly, there wasn't a whole lot of warning," Pallet said. "I know a lot of manufacturers are testing other materials, but right now, to the best of my knowledge, no one has found a material that offers all the different characteristics of Royalex." But not all paddlers will agree about gear — especially canoes. "I don't think it's the end-all, be-all of canoes," said Trevor Baun, a paddling instructor at Whitehorse's Yukan Canoe. "And I think the companies are working on another solution for it, they just haven't let people know what that solution is going to be at this point in time." Still, it could take years for any new canoe material to get to market, and even longer to win the confidence of serious paddlers. "Some of the rivers that we take clients to — the Wind River, the Snake River up in the Peel Watershed — it's a pretty remote place, so that's the last place you want to be when your boat fails," Pallet said. There are still many new and old Royalex canoes available to buy, many with years of life left in them, but the last sheets of that raw Royalex material roll out next month.

I think Swivl-Eze makes a lot of the pedestals used be the boat companies. You may be able to get the same product for less if you buy that brand.

Aren't you still pretty young?

The MNR is holding 3 information sessions on the current status of lake Ontario and to discuss NEW stocking plans for the lake in 2015 and beyond. I have posted a link with details below. Sessions are: April 22 - Belleville 7:00 – 9:30 pm Belleville Fish and Game Club 170 Elmwood Drive, Belleville May 6 - Port Credit : 6:30 – 9 pm Clarke Memorial Hall, 161 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga (Port Credit) May 8 – Oshawa 6:30 – 9 pm Quality Inn & Conference Centre, 1011 Bloor St. East. Oshawa, Agenda • Status of Lake Ontario fisheries including the Bay of Quinte: The results from Ontario and New York State 2013 monitoring programs for the recreational fisheries, the status of prey fish and the overall status of the Lake Ontario fish community. • Lake Ontario Fish Stocking Program Review: Learn about the Lake Ontario stocking program for Chinook and Coho Salmon, Rainbow and Brown Trout, Atlantic Salmon, Lake Trout, Walleye and more. For more information email [email protected] or call 1-613-476-3255 Presented by: Lake Ontario Management Unit Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

If you install a receiver hitch for it, you could rig up some sort of support that attached to the hitch what you wanted to add the canoe. A lot of roof racks do not provide enough clearance for canoes. I took some 4" PVC and wrapped in outdoor carpet. They are now about 8" in diameter and prevent the canoe from contacting the roof.

How about a 2002 or 2007 Ford F150. The OP needed parts for a 12 year old reel; not 33 year old reel. And parts could become unavailable in as little as five years if you bought in the final year of the model. Something to think about before buying a Shimano Stella or Calcutta.

As the song says... "2 out of 3 ain't bad." Four of six points is pretty good considering who they have played on the road for the last three.

My wife loves hers. She is driving a current model so I can't really comment on long term reliability. It has been great in the short term. It is roomy and great to drive. She doesn't tow or take it off road. It handles Toronto snow conditions. We live at the bottom of a hill on a cul-de-sac; so we often have to drive up an unploughed hill after it snows. It handles that well; but this is Toronto snow, not Barrie snow. It also provides good ground clearance. It doesn't bottom out on our drive way; some minivans do. It also provides a good amount of interior space for the size of the vehicle. We have never tried it in snow belt conditions. The one thing that I do not like about it is the adjustment for the drivers seat. I am 6' 4" and my wife is not. In addition to sliding the seat all the way back; I have to pump a lever to tilt the whole seat back to give me more room. Then I have to adjust the angle of the back of the seat to compensate for tilting the entire seat. Then my wife has to the opposite when she drives. It's a bit of a pain to adjust between our heights. If the seat would just slide back an extra couple of inches it would eliminate all of the other adjustments.

If "Coach's" Corner is going to continue for two more years; shouldn't they have an actual coach?

If nobody dies, it should be attempted murder.

Yes, the laws have not kept with the technology. They should relax the requirements to have out license with us when it is so easy for them to verify that we have one.

I wonder where they went through. Most of the ice on the west side is about 2 feet thick; I don't drill too many holes. Lots of people driving out this year. The east side is also frozen this year. I have never seen that side freeze in previous years. Perhaps that ice is less than the ~24" that I have been fishing. In fairness, if you see 15-20 cars and trucks on the ice, you tend to think the ice is safe.